Have you ever paused in the middle of running errands or making dinner or whatever else we are doing through out the day and just ask ourselves what the heck we are doing with our life? Do we feel accomplished and complete? Are we happy, do we feel empowered and independent and strong and loving ourselves just the way we are? Cuz it happened to me all the time! I felt like I was missing something in life and that I was not enough or doing things right. At the beginning of the new year I didn’t set any new year goals. I just did what I would do everyday…wake up at 5…take the the kids to school, start dinner, make lunch, run errands, clean and do laundry. Just the same daily routine I have done for the past 14 years. One day I woke up and I felt rested like if I had slept for a full 8 hours and when I checked my phone it wasn’t 8 hours it was 9 hours and 36 minutes! I couldn’t believe it because I wasn’t even trying to fall asleep. I mean, I can never get enough sleep let alone sleep in! But you know what was different this new year and this time around ? I was making small changes in my life, taking small steps that were giving me positive and life changing results! I started by not answering phone calls of toxic people that were not helping me feel better about my lifestyle and the person that I was. I closed my mouth to gossip, I closed my eyes and covered my ears no longer listening to anything negative. I started doing yoga, I take detox baths once a week, I pray every morning and night and You know what else I do? I drink WINE! Oh yes I do and I go on dates with my husband once a month! Yes I have 7 kids! No I don’t have the time to do these things but I make time! Because my mind, my soul, my body needs it! And it’s amazing how our life changes when we make small changes and take baby steps. We have to program our minds to think good positive thoughts and shove feelings of I’m not good enough or I’m not doing this right down the toilet and flush that guy away! Let’s turn bad habits into good habits every single day let’s practice the art of love and kindness and giving and self love. Let’s wake up everyday at the same time and go to bed at the same time and let’s tell ourselves that this will be the best day of our lives! And if it was a bad day so what?! Go to bed and forget about it! Tomorrow is a new day for us to shine and conquer the world! And if you fall get up! And start all over again! There is not a handbook that tells us what we need to do and when! Live the life you want the way you want and whoever loves YOU will stick around till the day that God decides its time to leave this beautiful place called earth. So for now take chances and don’t regret anything.

I love cooking for my family on Christmas and every year I try to switch things up and try different menus and recipes. Here are a variety of Christmas recipes to simplify your cooking and planning this holiday season.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/holidays-and-parties/packages/holidays/holiday-central-christmas/the-best-christmas-recipes https://www.countryliving.com/content/christmas-recipes/

https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g2768/christmas-cocktails/

https://pin.it/lxlukug4wmbway

It’s so crazy Christmas is just a few weeks away. I remember telling myself last year that I wasn’t going to stress about the holidays this year and I had to come up with something that would help me enjoy the holidays more instead of just wanting to skip Christmas the following year. Christmas is a time to sit back, relax, recollect memories and enjoy with the people we love. It’s not a time to stress about what presents we are going to get our family and friends or if we are over or under budget. I did a list of the people I needed to buy presents for and what I would get each one either being a gift card, holiday basket or something special like a DIY or custom made. I LOVE Pinterest! You can find just about everything from delicious easy holiday recipes to DIY to Christmas gift guide ideas! I also love Etsy because it has the best handmade items. Recently I came across Eve’s Addiction where you can find personalized and memorable items for a reasonable price. We just have to think ahead of the game and start Christmas planning early. It is going to save you time and money. For those of us who have kids I always have my kids to their Santa list early. Create a list and your budget and start buying gifts. I always do 1 or 2 at a time and believe me it saves you more money than just going shopping the day or the week before Christmas. Try to set a goal about what day and month you want to have all or most of you Christmas shopping done and get a head start on your wrapping. Shop early, finish early, avoid the Christmas rush, sit back and enjoy the holidays.



Most of the time I feel I get so caught in my busy life that I forget to just take a moment and breathe. I have seven kids including 8 month old twins and I did not have time to even sit down to have breakfast or enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. I was so stressed and overwhelmed I did not know how to just take a break and pause my day for a few minutes. I went to bed every night crying and so tired! One night when the twins kept me up most of the night I was watching tv and every time the twins needed me I grabbed the remote to pause my show and then it clicked me just like you pause your favorite show or movie you can put a pause to your life as well. What happens after you unpause your movie? Is it gone? No it’s still there! Same thing with life it’s ok if we take a break! We have permission to rest and let go! Go ahead whatever you are doing right now grab the remote and pause your life, go outside , sit down or lay down. You need to take care of yourself and remember who you are and just breathe! Find time for yourself read a book, go on a walk, meditate watch your favorite show/movie or just do something that you love. We need to find that balance in life; trust, let go and embrace. Sometimes it’s ok to pause and shutdown.

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